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"What do you call 1,000 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?
A good start."
- An old lawyer joke
"Why don't sharks attack lawyers? Professional Courtesy."
- Another old lawyer joke
"Scientists have discovered that they prefer lawyers to
rats in experiments. First of all they become less attached
to the lawyers and secondly.... there are some things that a
rat just won't do."
- And yet another old lawyer joke
August 6th, 2003
Take this for what its worth.
Wayne sends this one in. I'm not a lawyer so
I can't confirm or deny the validity of this, however my
wife has told me that she got a message from the Freehold
Township Police Department suggesting the same thing. If you
really think this is valid, bounce this off of a lawyer. But
apparently it's a good precaution against identity theft.
If it's really good, drop me an e-mail and tell
me your story. My e-mail address is vikar@vikarsrant.net*
An Attorney's Advice ...and it's free!
A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees
in his company:
The next time you order checks have only your initials (instead
of first name) and last name put on them.
If someone takes your check book they will not know if you sign
your checks with just your initials or your first name but your
bank will know how you sign your checks.
When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts,
DO NOT put the complete account number on the "For"
line. Instead, just put the last four numbers. The credit card
company knows the rest of the number and anyone who might be
handling your check as it passes through all the check processing
channels won't have access to it.
Put your work phone number on your checks instead of your home
phone. If you have a PO Box use that instead of your home address.
Never have your Social Security number printed on your checks
(DUH!) you can add it if it is necessary. But if you have it
printed, anyone can get it.
Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine, do
both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know
what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and
phone numbers to call and cancel.
Keep the photocopy in a safe place. I also carry a photocopy
of my passport when I travel either here or abroad.
We've all heard horror stories about fraud that's committed
on us in stealing a name, address, Social Security number, credit
cards, etc.
Unfortunately I, an attorney, have firsthand knowledge because
my wallet was stolen last month. Within a week, the thieve(s)
ordered an expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for
a VISA credit card, had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway
computer, received a PIN number from DMV to change my driving
record information online, and more.
But here's some critical information to limit the damage in
case this happens to you or someone you know:
We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately.
But the key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers
handy so you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find
them easily.
File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where it
was stolen, this proves to credit providers you were diligent,
and is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is
one).
But here's what is perhaps most important: (I never even thought
to do this).
Call the three national credit reporting organizations immediately
to place a fraud alert on your name and Social Security number.
I had never heard of doing that until advised by a bank that
called to tell me an application for credit was made over the
Internet in my name.
The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your
information was stolen and they have to contact you by phone
to authorize new credit.
By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after
the theft, all the damage had been done.
There are records of all the credit checks initiated by the
thieves' purchases, none of which I knew about before placing
the alert. Since then, no additional damage has been done, and
the thieves threw my wallet away this weekend (someone turned
it in). It seems to have stopped them in their tracks.
The numbers are:
- Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
- Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742
- Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289
- Social Security Administration (fraud
line): 1-800-269-0271
* - My e-mail address can also be gotten in the Contact
Me section of this site.
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